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Rumor Sparks Petition to Get Meryl Streep to Play Leia in 'Star Wars: Episode IX'

Katherine Barner is a news writer for Complex. She often writes about music, politics, film, and television.

Mar 30, 2018

Image via Getty/Samir Hussein

Ever since Carrie Fisher passed away in December 2016, rumors have been flying regarding the fate of her beloved role as Princess Leia in the Star Warsfranchise. Will Princess Leia be killed off? Will the character be written off in an emotional, Disney-esque way? Or is it possible that another actor can do Princess Leia justice and the role will be re-cast? Many fans seem to think Meryl Streep might be the answer.

Fans started a petition in favor of casting Streep as Princess Leia inEpisode IX, the next installment of the Star Wars franchise. The petition is less than 100 supporters away from its 8,000 signature goal. The petition is addressed to "Lucasfilm, Walt Disney Studios, Ms. Kathleen Kennedy and Mr. J.J.Abrams." Kathleen Kennedy is the president of Lucasfilm.

The petition reads, "After the death of Carrie Fisher, there have been a lot of uncertainties in how STAR WARS Episode IX is going to deal with Leia. As Lucasfilm claimed that they have no plans to digitally recreate Carrie Fisher with CGI in STAR WARS Episode IX, the more possible solutions are to recast Leia or to write her out of the film."

After Fisher passed, Lucasfilm and Disney confirmed that they would not bring Fisher back via CGI as Princess Leia in Episode IX. Lucasfilm and Disney have not yet revealed any information of the fate of the Princess Leia character.

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"As the fans of STAR WARS and Carrie Fisher, we really want Leia to shine in Episode IX, and we certainly do not want her to be written out of the film abruptly without a reasonable plot. Therefore, recasting Leia is a more ideal option for us and we believe that Meryl Streep is an ideal candidate to play Leia," reads the petition. Streep may perhaps seem like the only choice to play the next Leia. The three-time Academy Award winner is not only a legend in her field, but she was also a close friend of Fisher's.